Nebraska football tailgate talk: Let's smoke Colorado Saturday night

The Nebraska football team plays their first night game of the season at 6:30 in Memorial Stadium. NBC will carry the game. Thank you, Mother Nature, in advance with a game-time temperature of 75 and a partly sunny day for tailgating. Red balloons will be flying high Saturday and even the 94' National Champion Cornhuskers will be on the sidelines to watch Big Red in action.

My favorite thing about last week was that after the Dante Dowdell fumble, there wasn't a sense of panic. That Nebraska made lemonade out of that big fatty lemon and went on to manufacture a 9-point swing in its favor was very refreshing.

So many times last season that point swing was not in our favor, so it's safe to say I still have a big crush on the Husker QB. There were a couple risky throws last week, but they weren't out of a sense of panic. It's a reminder that he's still just a freshman. However, Big Red finally has a QB that can make tough throws look routine and is solid on the basic plays. BOOYAH!

Offensively speedster wide receivers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor were dazzling on the outside. The 4-pack of running backs all had good pass blocking moments in addition to their ground game. Even the O line looked pretty good and gave Dylan Raiola time to process through his play progressions. When there weren't options, Raiola had the good sense to throw the ball away. Even Heinrich Haarberg looked like a better QB. Good on him!

Looks like special teams has come out of their fog this season too! I would say the Cornhusker return game is in good hands (and feet) with Isaiah Garcia-Castenada. (ICG was 3 carries for 27 yards.) It was also encouraging to see Jacory Barney rip off his 35-yard return. Pretty sure they have better stats after last week than Huskers special teams had all last year. Huskers were good on PATs and even a little feel good field goal thrown into the mix. Hope springs eternal for this group. Could the haze be clearing on special teams finally?

I like how well Tony White's Defense handled the pre-snap movement of UTEP. This week I suspect the noise level will be a big factor in the game and I don't see Colorado being able to communicate well which should limit pre-snap movement. Add in the fact that Ty Robinson will be playing ALL game (unlike last year where he was suspended for the first half) and I'm looking for him and Nash Hutmacher to put a lot of pressure on Shedeur Sanders --a Blackshirt fog if you will. Look for more defensive Husker stunts and twists against the Buffs as well.

Cornhusker safeties and corners have the biggest battle this week. We all know how good Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter is as a target. And I don't think the defense has forgotten about Buffalo Jimmy Horn Jr and his career high191 yards against NDSU. Tony White is up to the task. We will find out if the rest of the Cornhuskers are too.

For the Huskers offensively, the gamplan is clear. RUN the DANG BALL! Big Red should want to grind Colorado into submission from the first snap. Control the tempo of the game with the run game and put the icing on the victory cake with passing touchdowns too. D Line will need to smother Sanders with pressure. Keeping Sanders in a cloud of pass rush instead of letting him get his front foot planted would be fantastic.

Nebraska football tailgate for Colorado

My friend, Elaine sent me a drink recipe for a tailgate and it seems appropriate for this one. The drink is called Royal Flush. It's a mixture of Chambord, Peach Schnapps, and Honey Whiskey with cranberry juice. I took grape jello and mixed it with a cup of hot cranberry juice, then after it was blended well, I poured in 1/4 c peach schnapps and 1/2 c Tennesee Honey Whiskey. It's rather tasty. I'm hoping it helps the Huskers royally flush Colorado's hopes of victory down the sewer. I'm calling it the BLAZE. (That's a non-standard poker hand of face cards that beats a flush for you non-gamblers).

This week I want better Tackle play. I want the refs to be mindful of Travis Hunter and his pushing off infractions. I don't want Colorado to play dirty (Mom always said it's good to want). More than anything, I want a win for Husker nation and the team. "Just so you know, I never lost to them (Colorado)" is what Dominick Raiola said to his son... For more keys on the game, click here.

Nebraska football won't face another team this season quite like this so it wouldn't be a season ending loss if it shakes out that way, but a win would be a momentum shift in the wave of the future for HC Matt Rhule and company. Be there, be LOUD and GO BIG RED!